Earlier this year in the FX drama Feud: Capote vs the Swans , the dramas of New York high society socialites in the ’60s and ’70s were laid bare. An unlikely protagonist emerged: the distinct, opulent jewels of the era. There is a scene of socialite and former Vogue editor Babe Paley, after a cancer diagnosis, surrounded by her jewels and doling them out to friends.
A particular piece catches the eye of one of Paley’s friends—a rubellite Verdura bracelet. The show has since spurred a growing interest and fever for designs from those decades, and particularly designs by jewellers whose names had otherwise lost their lustre to time. Duke Fulco di Verdura, for one, was a designer of bold, sculptural pieces who made a mark on 20th-century fine jewellery.
Before founding his eponymous brand in 1939, the Sicilian aristocrat was the head jewellery designer at Chanel and the man who introduced Maltese cross cuffs to Gabrielle Chanel. Verdura has changed hands over the decades, but in the present it is owned and run by Ward Landrigan, the former head of jewellery at Sotheby’s. In its revived form, the house creates designs from nearly 10,000 sketches that Verdura made in his lifetime.
Landrigan’s efforts at continuing the legacy of storied, unsung designers might just be paying off. Since being featured on television, Verdura designs have begun to sell out. Another name that Landrigan has instigated a comeback with is Suzanne Belperron, one of the most influential—and ve.